Essential tool for academicians: Cordless presenter

In academic medicine, you inevitably will need to give presentations. This may include giving lectures on clinical topics, summarizing your research findings, or presenting your meeting agenda. Usually these are displayed using a laptop and a LCD projector. Depending on the room, you may or may not be provided a cordless presenter.

What is a cordless presenter?

This is a USB-enabled device which allows you advance your Powerpoint slides wirelessly.

Every few months or so, I find opportunities where presenters are surprised by the lack of an available cordless presenter. Such was the case at our annual department faculty meeting yesterday. Fortunately, I carry one in my laptop bag at all times. The attendees were surprised and wondered why I carry around such a device. A better question is - why DOESN'T everyone carry this around with their laptop?

I bought mine (Logitech Cordless 2.4 GHz Presenter) in 2007 for about $60. It now costs $69.99 from Office Depot. I don't have any financial ties to this product. I like it because it has a laser pointer, works on both Mac and PC with no set-up needed, and has a timer which vibrates at the 5-minute and 2-minute countdown mark. Here are the Amazon.com reviews. There are lots of newer models out there. I highly recommend getting one, especially if you give a lot of presentations on the go.